Last Names & Their Meanings
Discover the meaning, origin and history behind surnames from around the world — whether a name comes from a trade, a place, a father’s name or a personal trait.
Browse last names by origin
English Last Names
28 surnames →
Japanese Last Names
25 surnames →
Italian Last Names
24 surnames →
Spanish Last Names
24 surnames →
German Last Names
23 surnames →
Russian Last Names
23 surnames →
Irish Last Names
22 surnames →
French Last Names
22 surnames →
Korean Last Names
20 surnames →
Chinese Last Names
19 surnames →
All surnames A–Z
toponymic
Matsumoto
Base of the pine (松本) · Japanese
patronymic McCarthy
Son of Cárthach · Irish
descriptive Medvedev
Of the bear · Russian
occupational Mercier
Merchant · French
occupational Meyer
Steward, tenant farmer · German
patronymic Mikhailov
Son of Mikhail · Russian
clan name Moon
Literature (文) · Korean
toponymic Morales
Place of mulberry trees · Spanish
descriptive Moreau
Dark-skinned · French
descriptive Moretti
Little dark one · Italian
toponymic Mori
Forest (森) · Japanese
descriptive Morozov
Of the frost · Russian
occupational Muller
Miller · German
patronymic Murphy
Sea warrior · Irish
toponymic Nakamura
Middle village (中村) · Japanese
descriptive Neumann
Newcomer · German
patronymic Nikolaev
Son of Nikolai · Russian
descriptive Novikov
The newcomer · Russian
patronymic O’Brien
Descendant of Brian · Irish
patronymic O’Connor
Descendant of Conchobhar · Irish
patronymic O’Neill
Descendant of Niall · Irish
patronymic O’Sullivan
Descendant of the dark-eyed one · Irish
toponymic Ogawa
Small river (小川) · Japanese
descriptive Orlov
Of the eagle · Russian
patronymic Ortiz
Son of Ortún · Spanish
clan name Park
Gourd (朴) · Korean
occupational Parker
Park keeper · English
patronymic Pavlov
Son of Pavel (Paul) · Russian
descriptive Pellegrino
Pilgrim · Italian
patronymic Perez
Son of Pedro (Peter) · Spanish
patronymic Perrin
Little Pierre (Peter) · French
patronymic Peters
Son of Peter · German
descriptive Petit
Small, short · French
patronymic Petrov
Son of Pyotr (Peter) · Russian
patronymic Popov
Of the priest · Russian
patronymic Quinn
Descendant of Conn · Irish
patronymic Ramirez
Son of Ramiro · Spanish
descriptive Reed
Red-haired · English
patronymic Reilly
Descendant of Raghallach · Irish
other Reyes
Kings · Spanish
descriptive Ricci
Curly-haired · Italian
toponymic Rivera
Riverbank · Spanish
descriptive Rizzo
Curly-haired · Italian
patronymic Rodriguez
Son of Rodrigo · Spanish
toponymic Romano
From Rome; the Roman · Italian
descriptive Romero
Pilgrim; rosemary · Spanish
descriptive Rossi
Red-haired · Italian
descriptive Roth
Red-haired · German
descriptive Rousseau
Little red-haired one · French
descriptive Roux
Red-haired · French
patronymic Ruiz
Son of Ruy (Rodrigo) · Spanish
descriptive Russo
Red-haired · Italian
patronymic Ryan
Little king · Irish
toponymic Saito
Purification, wisteria (斎藤) · Japanese
patronymic Sanchez
Son of Sancho · Spanish
toponymic Sasaki
Helper, tree (佐々木) · Japanese
toponymic Sato
Help, wisteria (佐藤) · Japanese
occupational Schafer
Shepherd · German
occupational Schmidt
Smith, metalworker · German
occupational Schneider
Tailor · German